Hello.
I have an '87 Olds Cutlass Ciera that needs a new fuel pump.
I connected 12v directly to the fuel pump connector and the pump doesn't make a sound or make any Pressure.

My question is Has anyone ever cut an access hole in the floorboard under the back seat instead of dropping the fuel tank?

If you work in a shop and have a lift, it may be easier to drop the tank, however I am working in my driveway and I had just topped off the tank.
Dropping the full tank could be major hassle , so I would have to siphon or get a drill operated pump to empty before removing.
I think in my situation it would be easier to cut a hole in the floorboard so I could r&r the pump.What do you all think?
Thanks.

DISCONNECT BATTERY!
Drain the tank.Rise the car, if the system has any psi in it try to let that out. a chiltons book will help with this. use a floor jack with a piece of plywood
maybe 2x2 to hold the tank up a remove the straps , with some help lower the tank just enough to get to the wires and hoses, after that its a snap,

It would be dangerous cutting out the floor above the tank chances of sparks etc., besides why ruin a good floor. Put the car up on jackstands and drain the tank and drop the tank. Oh yeh...when draining the tank do not have a drop light anywhere around...one little drop of gas hitting the hot light bulb and Boom!

Usually trying to do something the easy way turns out to be more trouble than it's worth. I changed a fuel pump for someone last summer. It intermittently went out. Of course the first thing they did was fill up the tank, just to be sure there was enough gas in it. That's when the pump finally went out....at the gas station! About 18 gallons of gas drained and I was able to get to work.

Its easier to get at the hoses if they need replaced, keeping the area around the seal clean will be easy out of the car, once you get the tank out get all the crud out from around the seal befor removing the pump,
so it wont end up inside.after the pump is out look inside-NO LIGHTS- take it out side in the sun light to see if you got crud laying on the bottom.

I can't pass up this chance to tell a funny story regarding this sort of thing. In '65, I was working at AC Spark Plug, where we were developing an intank pump. One day, 3 or 4 of us were standing around a lift as a couple of technicians were swapping out a pump. (Engineers are good at watching others do the work.) These guys had been repeating this exercise a number of times each day and, this time, they committed the unforgivable sin of neglecting to disconnect the battery. Fortunately, rather than the spectacular explosion of a Hollywood movie, all that happened was that a pool of gasoline in the small cavity atop the tank caught fire. Now, with AC's emphasis on fuel delivery products, it shouldn't surprise you that all employees (at least, at that time), who might be caught in this sort of situation, were required to take a course in the use of fire extinguishers and the controlling of a large petroleum fire. Somehow, I got by under the radar. I think I was sick when I was scheduled and they never got around to me. Anyway, as I was told, they put you into a pool, set it afire, hand you an extinguisher, and then you're supposed to keep it from circling behind you and eventually extinguish it. Sounds scary and I'm happy they never got around to me. But, back to the car on the lift and the fire atop the tank: These two technicians, seeing the fire, attempted to extinguish it by jumping up and blowing on it. I could never fully explain how funny it all was! Here are these two guys, jumping up and down and huffing and puffing, but all to no avail. Looking under the lift and past the technicians and the engineers on the other side, I could see a fire extinguisher. It all took place in a few seconds, but I remember wondering when those engineers were going to stop laughing long enough to run over and get the extinguisher. So, I learned a lesson with this experience. Instead of waiting for someone else to respond, do it yourself! I could have run around the car and past those laughing engineers before they ever thought to do anything. Assuming I could laugh and run at the same time, of course.

I can't pass up this chance to tell a funny story regarding this sort of thing. In '65, I was working at AC Spark Plug, where we were developing an intank pump. One day, 3 or 4 of us were standing around a lift as a couple of technicians were swapping out a pump. (Engineers are good at watching others do the work.) These guys had been repeating this exercise a number of times each day and, this time, they committed the unforgivable sin of neglecting to disconnect the battery. Fortunately, rather than the spectacular explosion of a Hollywood movie, all that happened was that a pool of gasoline in the small cavity atop the tank caught fire. Now, with AC's emphasis on fuel delivery products, it shouldn't surprise you that all employees (at least, at that time), who might be caught in this sort of situation, were required to take a course in the use of fire extinguishers and the controlling of a large petroleum fire. Somehow, I got by under the radar. I think I was sick when I was scheduled and they never got around to me. Anyway, as I was told, they put you into a pool, set it afire, hand you an extinguisher, and then you're supposed to keep it from circling behind you and eventually extinguish it. Sounds scary and I'm happy they never got around to me. But, back to the car on the lift and the fire atop the tank: These two technicians, seeing the fire, attempted to extinguish it by jumping up and blowing on it. I could never fully explain how funny it all was! Here are these two guys, jumping up and down and huffing and puffing, but all to no avail. Looking under the lift and past the technicians and the engineers on the other side, I could see a fire extinguisher. It all took place in a few seconds, but I remember wondering when those engineers were going to stop laughing long enough to run over and get the extinguisher. So, I learned a lesson with this experience. Instead of waiting for someone else to respond, do it yourself! I could have run around the car and past those laughing engineers before they ever thought to do anything. Assuming I could laugh and run at the same time, of course.

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